The great hobby of keeping racing pigeons has many fascinating and
interesting aspects. Some fanciers prefer the racing part where others prefer
the challenge of breeding better pigeons but all enjoy both to a certain degree.
For over forty years I have enjoyed all facets of this hobby but just recently discovered another one that I find as challenging
and rewarding as flying and breeding pigeons. Since 1998 I have
been photographing pigeons with a digital camera and rendering and enhancing
their photos. Now that I am retired from a career in education that
has covered over 30 years I am in a position to put more time and effort in to
this pastime. For the past several years I have spent countless
hours photographing pigeons and learning the techniques involved in
digitally rendering photographs. I have learned some
techniques that will help taking pigeon photos become a less
frustrating experience for you. On these few web pages I will
share these tips with you. You will also find some
examples of photos of pigeons that I have digitally enhanced.
Rendering digital images is much more difficult so it will not be
discussed here. You may wish to read a very detailed
article written by Silvio on pigeon photography and yours
truly, just go to:
http://www.silvio-co.com/pigeons/photography.htm

Below you will find samples of my work.

This
photo is of the Great Champion "St. Thomas" owned
by Silvio Mattachione of Ashdon Farms.
It was scanned from "The
World of Champions" 94 Edition published by Silvio and has been digitally enhanced
to present St. Thomas who is now deceased to look as he did in his prime.
Even though this is a good photograph it does not give this champion justice.
The profile of the bird is quite good except for the back foot which makes him
look a bit off balance. Also the back wing is out of place and the tail
and wing tips are a bit ragged. With a little work notice how this photo
can
be improved. First, on the completed picture you will see that the
back leg has been moved forward and the angle of the leg is now parallel to the front one.
Then the back wing was removed and the tail and wing tips have been touched up.
Also the color has been adjusted slightly and the photo has been sharpened. Finally an appropriate background with a halo effect was added to
finish the photo. "Voila", the great St. Thomas at his best.